


I need a place to stay.

by Stormendale



Category: IT (2017), IT - Stephen King
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Flash Fic, M/M, Platonic Relationships
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-28
Updated: 2018-08-28
Packaged: 2019-07-03 16:02:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 521
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15822264
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Stormendale/pseuds/Stormendale
Summary: written for the dialogue prompt, "I need a place to stay."





	I need a place to stay.

**Author's Note:**

> This was the first Reddie fic I ever attempted. There's not much to it but I think it stands in its own right. Enjoy.

“I’m sorry, Richie. I just - I need a place to stay.” Eddie pushed his blond hair back from where it had fallen in front of his glasses, knowing that his eyes were red and puffy.

_I told you this would happen, sweetheart._

Eddie pushed his mother’s voice from his mind as Richie put a firm hand on his shoulder. “No, it’s fine, just -” He stepped out of the door, forcing Eddie back a few feet and peering both ways down the sidewalk. “It’s 3 in the morning. I’m not _mad_ , I’m worried. Just come in, we’ll talk about it.”

Eddie hadn’t seen Richie in a while, and he hadn’t been his only choice for who to come to, but it was the only one that felt right. He was starting to get trapped in his head, the room spinning, and suddenly he was on his backside on Richie’s expensive couch and Richie awkwardly perched next to him.

_I told you this would happen._

“Tell me what happened, Spaghetti Man.” Richie had his charming smile on, and Eddie couldn’t handle it and then he was crying and having trouble breathing, his sobs tearing out of him like breaths but not quite offering the same relief as actually breathing.

Richie reached in Eddie’s pants pocket for his inhaler without a thought, like it hadn’t been a whole year since the last time he’d done it.

Then he could breathe and think again, and Richie was there, with a concerned frown to replace his charming smile. Eddie could handle that frown. He could understand it.

“You okay?”

“Yes, I’m - yes.” He took a deep breath. “I need a place to stay because something happened with my mom.”

“Something… is she okay?”

“Yes.” Eddie looked down at his hands, picking at his cuticles anxiously. “What I mean is, I had an argument with her. About a guy.” His eyes flickered up to Richie’s, whose own eyes widened in surprise and back down to his lap. “It was just a date. But he was… it wasn’t an ideal match.” Eddie pushed his hair behind his ear, swallowing thickly. “She kept saying, ‘I told you this would happen, I told you’ like I’m not capable of being in a relationship. She has always done that to me, about everything. Oh, Edward, you can’t possibly make any decisions of your own. Surely you’ll fail, or get hurt.”

Eddie was starting to cry again, but it was more controlled, simply tears rolling down his flushed cheeks. “So you left?” Richie asked softly.

“Yes. I didn’t want to say any of the mean things to her that I was thinking, so I just walked out. I didn’t even take any of my things.” Eddie tried to stop avoiding Richie’s gaze. “It would just be for a day or two until I can face her again. I won’t be any trouble.”

“Oh, Eds.” A fond smile rested on Richie’s lips. “You can stay as long as you need to, Spaghetti head.”

Eddie was capable of the begrudging eye roll and the rueful smile that usually accompanied the dumb nicknames this time.


End file.
